Can a donut without a hole be called donut?
Can a tape without a core be called tape? If the debate is still open concerning donuts, it is not concerning tape. Why? If you ever have used a tape to fix or close something, maybe you have never thought about the cardboard core that lies inside. Here is the issue: the core is made of paper, or plastic. Paper means trees. Plastic means petrol.

Can a donut without a hole be called donut?
Here it is, the Mechmetal project.
SCOTCH TAPE WITHOUT CORE CARDBOARD ROLL
The core plastic or cardboard roll the majority of tapes are rolled around has a cost, this new technology allows us to avoid using the roll and therefore the cost disappears.
The cost of the core rolls comprises of several elements.
First of all, the manufacturing costs, then the transport costs (from manufacturer to client) of a large and fragile load;
Consequently we have storage costs and shifts in humidity and fragility: these two variables might compromise the tape’s production, giving rise to significant delays in the manufacturing process and the need to restart the machinery. Unfortunately these often occurs when the core rolls are already loaded in the machinery.
The utilisation of core rolls implies their substitution every time there is a change in size of the scotch tape. For a minimum of four different sizes the cubature required in the dry area required in the stock room is significant.
The green disposal of the core rolls: many core rolls are made of cardboard which is recyclable, however millions of rolls get lost and the amount is not so significant to give enough raw material to recreate them.
In conclusion, if the core roll is not required, it cannot give rise to any of the above mentioned problems.
This automation is bulky and cumbersome, one of the major parts are the roll up shafts where the core rolls are placed and the tape will be inserted, rolled up around and taken off.
This automation sometimes takes up more than half the size of the whole machine and it’s very expensive, considering that for every length of the roll more than 80% of it has to be substituted and resulting in downtime and decreased production. Moreover a significant area is required to stock every size.
Considerable time is required to shift from the production of one size to the other (not only for the time to change the size).
